Science fiction & fantasy TV shows

Posted by Dave Switzer under My thoughts

Here are the science fiction and fantasy shows I’ve watched every episode of (or in the case of Futurama, almost every episode). I’ve rated each season separately and then calculated an average rating in the last column. As always, I’m not rating shows based on how groundbreaking or influential they are — merely on my […]

Replay

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{5/5} “I’ve imagined just about every possible explanation for what’s happening to me… Time warps, black holes, God gone berserk… I once had myself convinced this was all some sort of experiment being conducted by an extraterrestrial race.” Replay by Ken Grimwood, published in 1987  Jeff died of a heart attack at 43 in 1988. […]

My Neighbor Totoro

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of movies

{4/5} “Trees and people used to be good friends.” My Neighbor Totoro, released in 1988 This is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s older anime movies. I’ve seen several of his other movies — my favourite is Spirited Away. In this one a family moves to a new house in the country. The father works at a […]

Harry Potter

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books, Reviews of movies

What made Harry Potter such a phenomenon? A friend of mine suggested that the tipping point (read the book by Malcolm Gladwell if you haven’t already) was Rosie O’Donnell’s show. O’Donnell had her talk show at the time when the first book came out. She was a big fan and mentioned it several times. After it […]

Books & movies based on books

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books, Reviews of movies

I don’t usually read a book and watch the movie based on the book. I find that whichever one comes second will be pretty ho hum — so I just pick one or the other. I made a couple of exceptions recently for books on Sci-Fi  Lists. I read Jurassic Park and Interview With the […]

The Mists of Avalon

Posted by Dave Switzer under Reviews of books

{4.5/5} “Truth has many faces and the truth is like to the old road to Avalon; it depends on your own will, and your own thoughts, whither the road will take you.” The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, published in 1983 This is Bradley’s retelling of the King Arthur story from the point […]

TV Shows

Posted by Dave Switzer under My thoughts

When I watch a TV show I tend to watch every episode in order. If you watch them on DVD you don’t waste time on commercials and you don’t have to wait months for the resolution to cliffhangers. I try to wait until the series is done but I am watching a few current series. […]

Movies

Posted by Dave Switzer under My thoughts

I watch a fair number of movies. Most I watch at home and once in a while I’ll see one in the theatre. If you read my post from yesterday you won’t be surprised that I have a particular interest in science fiction and fantasy movies. And yes, there are lists for those on the […]

Books

Posted by Dave Switzer under My thoughts

I’m always reading something, and most of what I read is science fiction or fantasy. I find if I read a book that’s not science fiction or fantasy I’m often vaguely unsatisfied at the end. In the last couple of years I’ve been filling in some gaps in my reading by reading books on the […]